Show us your set up in action at night.

[Vroobel]

😏🙂

[Stu]

On 26/01/2023 at 16:20, Vroobel said:

Unbelievable! Some guys here on the SGL were laughing at me because of my dew heaters attached to EPs in my binoviewer... Where do you live? 

Well you are in good company, I do exactly the same! 👍👍

[Stu]

Playing with some big toys tonight. LZOS 130 and FS60C on the AZ100. Just trying out my new to me ADM Maxguider to align the scopes properly. Works beautifully.

[gorann]

Got the bl-dy moon here too but hopefully may triple rig (2 x RASA8 + Samyang135) on a Mesu200 will not get too much gradient problems with the help of IDAS NBZ filters.

[R26 oldtimer]

Set up last night the nyx-101 with my SW ED120 for a quick first light in my balcony. Very impressed, it is rock solid on the eq6 tripod and it slewed around the 5" frac as if there was nothing on it (although the sw120 is reasonably light for it's aperture). I will add a first impressions post on the mounts section later with a guidelog.

 

[Stu]

Trying (and succeeding) to see the comet this evening. Pretty awkward so close to the zenith.

[Sunshine]

First decent night in weeks!

[markse68]

Trying out new astro-stool. Very comfortable 👍

 

[badhex]

On 30/01/2023 at 19:49, Stu said:

Playing with some big toys tonight. LZOS 130 and FS60C on the AZ100. Just trying out my new to me ADM Maxguider to align the scopes properly. Works beautifully.

Hell of a rig that @Stu! 

[Sunshine]

19 minutes ago, markse68 said:

Trying out new astro-stool. Very comfortable 👍

 

With a stool like that who needs a telescope!? 

[josefk]

9 hours ago, markse68 said:

Trying out new astro-stool. Very comfortable 👍

 

i know its not a competition but I think this is my favourite set-up on here. it just looks SO ergonomically dialled in and productive😋 

[markse68]

51 minutes ago, josefk said:

i know its not a competition but I think this is my favourite set-up on here. it just looks SO ergonomically dialled in and productive😋 

Thanks Josef ☺️ Not sure about productive- I’m very lazy, but it has come together to be pleasing to use. It’s nice to have the ep at the top- keeps it all quite compact. I guess it would add compromise like all things optical but imagine a large aperture refractor with a folded path so the ep came out the side at the c of g- that would be really ergonomic. I did find something in a google search over on cn 🧐

Mark

[josefk]

@markse68 My cassegrain is incredibly back heavy (and so mounted very close to it's rear end) and it doesn't move the EP about too much but it has a long focal length so i can't use it for low power (and lightly mounted) sweeping.

I've been pondering fast (astrograph) newts for lightly mounted low power stuff as they would also be quite ergonomic sat at the side of them with not much swinging about going on but they're not without their own risks and drawbacks.

Being easily deployed and comfy is a combination not to be underestimated i think (folded refractors aside).

Joe

[badhex]

6 hours ago, josefk said:

i know its not a competition but I think this is my favourite set-up on here. it just looks SO ergonomically dialled in and productive😋 

It's a great setup! The lighting and industrial ducting also add to the ambience 🙂

[Enceladus Dan]

This is my set up, the photo was taken in May 2021 to show the dreaded LED Lights i was battling with while imaging the ring nebula. However it shows my typical set up, 150PDS mounted on an EQ5 Deluxe with tracking motors. Guided with an ASI120mm mini  on an astro essentials 50mm guide scope. i cant remember is this night i was using my 600D or trying out my ASI462 planetary cam (which was disastrous lol). also set up was my DIY Dew heaters and controller plus my DIY power box with a 80AH car battery that runs my rig.

 

Danny

[jfrijhoff]

My humble setup, hope to have a bit of guiding to add soon as well.

[900SL]

It was a bit parky last night. First clear sky in ages, high cloud came in around midnight.

Love the SXD2

[JeremyS]

2 hours ago, 900SL said:

It was a bit parky last night. First clear sky in ages, high cloud came in around midnight.

Love the SXD2

Bit of a change from the Saudi desert!

[900SL]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Bit of a change from the Saudi desert!

One extreme to the other Jeremy! Getting acclimatised now. I was out for 5 hours on the rocks, feet got cold but the rest was OK. I kept walking round the rig, must have covered a few kilometers.

Had a few issues with the cold, cable related, the Asi Air would have the odd disconnect, and i still haven't figured out the right flip settings so the SXD2 and AAP play nicely. Stopped tracking and guiding despite setting flip 20 degrees east, I'll do some test runs in the comfort of the apartment

Only ended up with 90 minutes subs due to high streaming cloud, and the calibration frames weren't properly matched. Next time I'll try a darker spot, this was bortle 7

 

 

Edited February 12 by 900SL

[Vroobel]

Hi,

Testing my new home-made 4-channel smart dew heater controller, dedicated for imaging. Works as expected.  

 

 

[CraigT82]

8 hours ago, Vroobel said:

Hi,

Testing my new home-made 4-channel smart dew heater controller, dedicated for imaging. Works as expected.  

 

 

Looks suspiciously like daylight there Vroobel 😉

I love that mount, you have some serious skills!

[Vroobel]

They are not only skills. I finish an Engineering (Advanced Manufacturing) course this year, so serious job offers are welcome... 🙂

Edited February 13 by Vroobel

[Froeng]

Waiting for darkness. I heard there may be a comet out to play…

[F15Rules]

Against all the weather forecasts for this week, it turned into a beautiful evening with dark, clear skies..

..so Trinity the Tak was happy to come out to play. She delivered wonderful views of M42, Alnitak, Rigel, Iota Orionis, M45, and the Double Cluster in Perseus.

I spent two luxurious hours just gazing at the above objects, with both Maxbright II binoviewers/Baader Zeiss BBHS prism and Astrotech 2" dielectric diagonal. Eyepieces a combination of Axiom LX 2" UWA, Pentax XL, and Burgess TMB Optics for cyclops viewing and  Tak and Baader Orthos and WO widefield pairs for binoviewing.

Here's Trinity gazing up at the Double Cluster in Perseus👍😊..

Dave

Edited February 20 by F15Rules

[wookie1965]

This is from a few days ago.